1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to wire rope terminations, more specifically to method and means for terminating a stranded wire rope or cable, installable through clearance holes of the threaded body diameter, that is swaged onto wire ropes out in the field.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Terminations are used at the ends of wire rope and cable to securely connect the cable to an end fitting of some kind. Various forms of wire rope terminations are currently used successfully such as guy wire ends associated with electric power pole guying, and post tensioning concrete. Other forms of wire rope terminations are used in a variety of applications such as to support elevators, move aircraft control flaps, etc.
Many different fittings for the wire rope terminations are manufactured including open and closed eyes, threaded rods, studs, and forks. Some terminations are swaged onto the ends of wire ropes. However, the terminations joined to the wire rope or cable by swaging have a number of disadvantages:
(a) the wire rope length must be known to swage the terminations at a factory;
(b) they require extremely high pressures to generate the friction forces necessary to hold the cable and terminations together when tension is applied to the joint;
(c) the termination designs are such that the swaged connection requires the large equipment found primarily in factories;
(d) the factory made terminations must be precision made with extacting tolerances of the swage stroke and the wire rope used must be precision made as to its diameter so that the machine does not swage too much and break the die or little and not achieve the proper friction fit for a strong termination. These swaged terminations can be made to have the same outside diameter in the swaged end as the threaded end, but must be factory made.
Other swageless terminations are of the type that use slidable wedges that can be released and reused, but they are limited to applications where their large outside diameter does not interfere with the hole diameter through which they are inserted before being used.
Another invention, U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,690 to Browne on Aug. 23, 1977 incorporates a plastic resin molded into the end of the flared wire within a tapered bore whereupon the resin hardens to form the assembly. The disadvantage of the resin core termination is a large outside diameter limiting its application to where there is a large amount of room through which it must pass to install the unit.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my wire rope termination are:
(a) to provide a termination installable in the field when the wire rope length is not known until installation time;
(b) to provide a field swaged termination by a hand operated hydraulic tool or other portable swaging tool;
(c) to eliminate the need for close tolerances of the wire rope diameter, the swage stroke, and accurate hole tolerances on the termination used;
(d) to provide a field swagable wire rope termination having a finished outside diameter that is no greater than the diameter of a threaded end for installing through clearance holes, which must be essentially no greater diameter than the threaded body diameter, yet achieving a strong mechanical connection.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings. The features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.